Exploring the Dilemmas, Challenges, and Opportunities of Adolescent Fatherhood: An Exploratory Case Study

Teenage pregnancy is a significant concern for society, and the effect on education is immense. In South Africa, policies were thus introduced allowing pregnant school-going children to continue attending class until the baby’s birth. However, research on adolescent pregnancy generally ignores teenage fathers and focuses mostly on teenage mothers. Parents of teenage girls are also encouraged to offer support to their children, but the same cannot be said about adolescent fathers. They confront numerous barriers in fulfilling their parenting roles. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to explore adolescent fathers’ dilemmas, challenges, and opportunities. Interviews were conducted to collect data from 5 adolescent fathers in 1 township in South Africa. Findings indicate that adolescent fathers face various challenges and experience fatherhood differently. The phenomenon’s effects on education are immense and unavoidable, yet some opportunities accompany the fathering role. Adolescent fathers are exposed to several complex situations that impact their lives. To understand these, further research studies into adolescent fatherhood still need to be conducted, and reproductive health education efforts should equally be directed toward empowering boys to the same extent as girls.


Introduction
Discussions on teenage parenting often focus on teenage mothers to the exclusion of teen fathers. There is also literature on teenage mothers' influence on children's outcomes, but the relationship between teenage fatherhood and children's health and development is less documented. 1 Moreover, although research is available about adolescent parenting, it generally ignores the father's involvement and focuses more on the teenage mother. This may be attributed to data suggesting teenage girls are often impregnated by older men. 2

INQUIRY
Some negative societal perceptions regarding adolescent fathers reflect these young men are never ready to take on the parental role and are seldom involved in their children's lives. These adolescents often deny paternity and remain absent from their children's lives. However, it has also been reported that many adolescent fathers have a strong need to be active parents. 3 Thus, while they are initially typically reluctant to come forward, some do so over time; others remain uninvolved and uninterested. Literature on adolescent fathers has highlighted negative life outcomes that may lead to adolescent fathers' absenteeism from their children's lives.
Some perceptions are that mothers' presence influences the child's development to a greater extent than the father's. However, it has also been argued that a father or father figure's presence in a child's life positively affects the child's life prospects, academic achievement, physical and emotional health, and linguistic, literary, and cognitive development. 4 Moreover, adolescent fathers' lives are often complicated, and they face many harsh realities. 5 Some of these negative life outcomes include delinquency, lower levels of education, and reduced or lack of employment opportunities. 6 It is well understood that adolescent parenting is not ideal as it is frequently characterized by negative outcomes. 7 Researchers further report that adolescent fatherhood decreases years of schooling and the likelihood of receiving a high school diploma. Adolescent fathers often do not attend school, are unemployed, and seldom receive formal training compared to their childless peers. 8 It is within this context that the investigation of dilemmas, challenges, and opportunities related to adolescent fatherhood (particularly in a lowresourced community) was pertinent.

Study Design and Setting
A qualitative exploratory design was employed in this study. Five participants aged between 18 and 25 who had fathered children before their 20th birthday were recruited from a mobile clinic operated by the university where the primary investigator was employed. The community did not have any other healthcare facilities within a 5-km radius. 9 The clinic was funded by a philanthropic group and was the only source of healthcare in the community. The clinic has been operating since 2005 and offers primary healthcare services, including sexual health services and free condoms. A semistructured interview, 10 which was self-developed based on the available literature, was used to collect data. Participants were permanent residents of the low-resourced community of Soshanguve extensions 12 and 13 in the City of Tshwane, South Africa, where the mobile clinic was in operation. The area is in an extremely disadvantaged and recently formalized region with extensive informal settlements around its periphery. 11

Population and Sampling
Participants were sampled because they fit the study's inclusion criteria. One participant who had attended the clinic for healthcare services was contacted to take part in the study and assisted the primary investigator in recruiting another participant known to him. This process resulted in snowball sampling, 12 which ensued until the last participant was selected.

Data Collection
Information leaflets were distributed to all participants to read and sign prior to data collection. Participants were prepared and informed of what the study entails and how interviews would be conducted. Data were collected by the primary investigator in English and translated to Setswana for participants who required such translation; Setswana is a dominant language in the community. Face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted and audio recorded with participants' permission. Data were collected until data saturation was achieved [13][14][15] and the research focus was met. It was challenging to sample adolescent fathers, as they are typically hard to identify, contact, and recruit to participate in research for several reasons. [16][17][18]

Data Analysis
The primary investigator verbatim transcribed and analyzed the data using Tesch's approach to content analysis. It is defined as a data analysis method that examines communication messages that are usually in written form. 19 The main approach to data analysis involved a detailed exploration and review of each interview. Initial findings were coded to find the deeper meaning of the participant's responses. Each new interview transcript was compared to the previous one to confirm or disapprove evidence, and common themes and subthemes were noted during the analysis. An independent coder also assisted to confirm or contradict the common emergent themes from analyzed data.

Ethical Considerations
Ethical principles of nursing research were applied in the study. Informed consent was obtained from participants, and a copy of the information leaflet was shared with them for reference. Interviews were conducted in a private room provided by the mobile clinic to ensure privacy during data collection. Participants' identities were protected, and recorded interviews were kept confidential. Anonymity was ensured by not identifying participants and using codes to report on the data. Information and arrangements contained in the participants' information leaflet were adhered to and no changes or adaptations were made during the study period. Participants were assured of their right to self-determination and were further informed that interviews would be audio rerecorded.

Dilemmas of Fatherhood
Upon finding out about the pregnancy, the adolescent fathers' reactions differed. Their dilemmas reflected the choices participants faced between undesirable alternatives, and included denial of the pregnancy and refusal of paternity.
Denial of pregnancy and refusal of paternity. Upon being informed of the pregnancy, some participants in this study denied the situation, although having engaged in sexual intercourse with the mother. They denied being responsible for the pregnancy when it was first announced. Participants were also unprepared to become fathers, as illustrated by their initial request to terminate the pregnancy. Failed relationships with the partners. The study's findings further indicated that adolescent fathers separated from the mothers of their children after the baby's birth. Participants highlighted no longer being involved with the mothers of their children; they said the only reason they remained in contact was due to co-parenting responsibilities. In some cases, this included participants financially supporting the child. One participant emphasized that although they had no relationship, he had to be courteous to the mother of his child so he could maintain access to the child. Another participant indicated that his partner and child had moved to another province. Explanations for the failed relationships were not shared.

Challenges of Fatherhood
The study's findings highlighted some challenges that adolescent fathers experienced. Some reported educational challenges, family challenges, financial challenges, and challenges in accessing their child.
Educational challenges. The difficulty of not successfully completing their schooling was a common theme that emerged from participants. The primary reason cited for their interrupted schooling was the pressure of feeling the need to support their child financially. This implies that the adolescent fathers' educational prospects and ability to complete school are affected by their parental roles. The balance between schooling and being a parent is difficult for adolescent fathers to maintain. One participant indicated a loss of concentration in school contributed to his decision to discontinue schooling, with the aim of seeking employment. Financial challenges. The lack of parental and family support ultimately strained the adolescent fathers' financial situation. They reported financial difficulty when their children were born. They were typically unable to financially provide for their children's needs, as most participants were not formally employed. Adolescent fathers' lack of financial income may also influence their ability or inability to maintain access to the child. In certain cases, it is the adolescent mother's family that prohibits the adolescent father from having access to the child. Access to the child. Conflict with the mothers sometimes hindered adolescent fathers' access to the child. Although the participants in this study had access, not all had unlimited access to their children. Some participants said that their access to their child was primarily impacted by their financial means. They consequently physically delivered money or other necessities for the child and were then in a position to see the child during these deliveries. For 1 participant, access was difficult as the mother and child had moved to a distant province, and it was problematic for him to travel since he was unemployed. However, he did manage to visit them at the end of each month.

Opportunities
Although challenging, adolescent fatherhood may also provide opportunities for these young men. In this study, adolescent fathers noted that their situation taught them how to adapt to the pressures of fatherhood.
Transition to fatherhood. The sudden transition from childhood to adulthood-and ultimately fatherhood-prepared them for sudden growth and responsibilities. There was an unexpected need to change after the birth of their children. Growth and the meaning of fatherhood. Adolescent fathers defined fatherhood as central to their personal experiences and gave it meaning. There was also an opportunity to learn from their circumstances and teach other adolescent males who might potentially find themselves in a similar situation.

P1:
There was an element of growth and a change in behavior that participants experienced, followed by emotions that come with parenting. Participants also learned that they could care for someone other than themselves. Being able to define fatherhood and give it meaning gave adolescent fathers an opportunity to learn and grow from what others may term "their mistakes." For the 1 participant still in school, it further created an opportunity to focus more on his education.

Discussion
The study explored the dilemmas, challenges, and opportunities of fatherhood from the perspective of adolescent fathers in a low-resourced community. It was a common finding that adolescent fathers, upon discovering the pregnancy, did not immediately accept it. There was an instantaneous decision not to father the child by rejecting paternity.
Research in South Africa also reported that teen fathers have difficulty accepting they were to be fathers, and the first reaction is often denial. 16 This phenomenon is also common in other African countries, particularly among unmarried couples. Ultimately, the fact that women in consensual unions are not legally married may give the fathers room to deny their children. 20 Reasons for denying the pregnancy were not further investigated, but another study suggested that the denial of paternity on the part of the father was a way to evade responsibility. It illustrated a lack of maturity, and also related to gender commitment and societal norms depicting expectations. 21 In this case, denying paternity may be associated with the societal norms and expectations of fathers as providers.
The pregnancy announcement elicited different reactions from participants. As an unexpected change in their lives, at the time of hearing about the pregnancy for the first time, shock was expressed. This is further supported by data on unmarried fathers that found when pregnancy was unexpected, there was a typical reaction of surprise, anger, and confusion. 22 Anxiety and stress were also common among adolescent fathers when they discovered they were to be parents. 2 Adolescent fathers are likely to be scared and shocked due to being unprepared for the pregnancy. 23 This unpreparedness can further be followed by the unavoidable task of having to inform their parents and other family members that they had fathered a child.
Adolescent fathers' biggest fear was informing their parents about the pregnancy and fathering a child at that age. The fear, in some cases, was not of physical punishment but rather emotional conflicts between them and their families. 24 This was particularly prominent among participants from a low-resourced community where poverty is rife; the announcement of a new member to the family means an extra person will need to be fed, and accepting that may be challenging. The lack of parental support was one of the challenges adolescent fathers experienced during their journey to fatherhood, and their fear of not receiving support prevailed.
For those parents who eventually accepted the pregnancy, there was a likelihood that their family could take over and support the child financially. However, financial support would typically come at the expense of the young men's education. 24 This study also found that families who chose to support their adolescent son's child did so by no longer providing for the adolescent father's basic needs. This is a punitive response that the family displays toward the adolescent father, perhaps to discourage these young men from repeating the same mistake.
The study's findings also reflected that adolescent fathers separated from the mothers of their children once the child was born. The lack of preparedness to become fathers may be a contributory factor to the separation or the end of the relationship that this study established. However, the study's focus was not on the reasons for separation, and it is unclear why the adolescent fathers separated from the mothers of their children after childbirth. Still, separation was almost imminent and is similarly reported in literature. For the adolescent fathers in this study, despite their separation from the child's mother, this did not always translate into an absence from the child's life. Participants maintained a courteous relationship with the mothers of their children primarily to maintain access to the child. This finding is corroborated in literature, which found that although adolescent fathers maintained a civil relationship for the sake of the child, they were no longer in relationships with the mothers of their children. 25 This dilemma is faced by most adolescent fathers and may play a crucial role in their ultimate access to the child. Financial difficulties may be a potential reason for the separation, as other researchers found that the young fathers' inability to financially provide hampered relationships in 56% of study samples. 25 The inability to financially support the child may result in access to the child being denied.
Various factors may impact adolescent fathers' access to the child after birth regardless of the status of the relationship between them and the mother. This may include the maternal family denying the adolescent father's access to the child based on their perceived belief of his inability to be a financial provider, or as a result of the young man's initial denial of paternity. A study on young fatherhood and child support found that active fatherhood can be encouraged or discouraged by the maternal family controlling access to the child. 26 The mother's side of the family would immediately assume kinship and guardianship of the child at the thought that the father may fail as a provider since the mother is a teenager herself. This indicates the amount of power the maternal family may possess in the relationship between father and child.
It was further reported that unemployment among adolescent fathers challenged the idea of their role as a provider. 26 Societal norms relating to gender roles place child-support responsibilities on men as fathers; therefore, the expectation from the mother's family can be seen as morally acceptable in society. Ultimately, access to the child is not always prohibited, although it is sometimes restricted. Adolescent fathers also have certain opportunities as a result of being a father. Participants were positively involved with their children except those who desired to be involved but were prohibited by the child's mother. 24 However, such involvement also requires adolescent fathers to appreciate and accept their transition to fatherhood, which presents an opportunity for growth. The transition to parenthood can be a challenging time, in which both mothers and fathers experience an increased risk of distress and depression. 7 However, the participants in this study indicated that their transition to fatherhood came with opportunities for growth and financial education.
Although the main focus of this study was not on gender roles and societal expectations of fatherhood, the adolescent fathers' transition to adulthood was affected by cultural and societal norms. These transitions were highlighted when some adolescent fathers discontinued schooling in order to seek work and provide for their children.
Literature indicates that adolescent mothers are most affected when it comes to their education. However, this does not exclude adolescent fathers. Adolescent fathers are less likely to finish high school than their childless peers, and they frequently feel they have to get a job. 27 Furthermore, adolescent fathers had significantly higher failure rates in completing secondary education. 23 Due to the cessation of schooling, adolescent fathers find it more difficult to secure employment in the future than their childless peers who likely completed tertiary education and may have good employment prospects. Difficult financial situations made it very hard for participants to play an active role in their children's lives. The desperation of being financially viable and the societal expectations and gender roles that state men are providers may place a severe strain on adolescent fathers and be a promoter of criminal behavior in a crime-ridden and competitive lowresourced community.

Conclusion
This study followed 5 adolescent fathers in a low-resourced, recently formalized community in the City of Tshwane, South Africa. The objectives were to assess the dilemmas, challenges, and opportunities adolescent fathers faced from the beginning of the pregnancy to after the child was born. The study's findings showed that adolescent fathers go through complex situations and the complexities have an impact on their lives.
Research into adolescent pregnancy and parenting focuses mostly on adolescent mothers and less on fathers. Further research studies into adolescent fatherhood need to be conducted, and reproductive health education efforts should equally be directed toward empowering boys as much as girls. More needs to be done to establish support structures for adolescent fathers to assist them in continuing their education.

Limitations
• • The study only focused on a small context of a lowresourced community; therefore, the results may not be transferrable to a different context. A broader study covering other parts of the townships may potentially yield different results. • • The sample size in this study may be considered a limitation due to the challenges experienced in sampling teenage fathers. Thus, the study was more dependent on data adequacy coupled with literature support, and the information collected from the participants was adequate to meet the study's objectives.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.